Origin of a New Type of Hero

I do not own My Hero Academia. Obviously.

Well, today could've gone better.

I let out a loud sigh, contemplating the events of the day on my walk home. It was the last year of middle school, and the teacher had been looking over our submissions for Career Day. Naturally, everyone had checked that little box next to "Pro Hero". So why was it so weird that I had done it?

The name's Izuku Midoriya and I want to be a Hero. But I don't have a quirk, as my classmates were quick to point out. Especially Kacchan. My teeth grit a little just thinking of him. We've been friends for years and he's been picking on him for just as long.

He was the first to jump down my throat when the teacher mentioned that i had checked "Pro Hero" as well.

"You, a quirkless little geek? How could a nerd like you be a hero" he shot at me. I stood up meekly. "W-w-well, I've been working out a lot, plus I've got my bl-bla-black belt, so I was thinking th-that maybe it could happen". I force the words out before looking Kacchan directly in the eyes. That was a mistake.

"WORKING OUT?!" he roars, letting loose an explosion that knocks a third of the class into the wall. "You think pumping 30 pounds twice a day makes you better than me?!" Actually, I was up to 170 as of yesterday but I chose to not bring that up. "And your black belt?! HA! It hasn't saved your pathetic ass from me!"

That was kinda true. Despite the years of martial arts practice, I had never been able to fend him off when he got on the warpath. It proved more than effective against the rest of the bullies in the classroom, as well as some neighborhood gang members. But Kacchan was way too powerful to lose to a few high kicks. But I keep standing. "W-well, I thought that I could at least try…". That was another mistake.

Pure rage flashed across Kacchan's face before he started staring at the floor. He walked towards me,slowly, dragging his feet with each step. His hand landed on my left shoulder and both his face and voice were lined with enmity.

"How about you listen to me, pal?". Everything about this scenario suggested that I was not his pal. "You take the U.A. exam… and you'll die. So how about you just sit your worthless ass down?". His hand began smoking, a sure sign that I was either gonna sit down or be forcefully relieved of my left arm. I had no choice but to meagerly accept his demands and sit down. He shoots one more superior glance at me before setting himself in his own chair with both feet propped up. I spent the rest of the day taking notes with my head in my hands.

Overall, a pretty bad day. But I've still got to keep my head high. Just like All Might! I really believe it, I believe that I can be a hero, no matter what they say! I let loose a guttural laugh just All Might. But I'm interrupted by a gurgling sound coming from the sewer cap behind me. A pile of slime rockets out from the sewer and lands in front of me. I don't have any time to react before tendrils of muck wrap around my body. It begins to envelop me, covering my entire body. It's so thick that I can't move an inch. Slime stretches over my mouth and it feels like it's trying to force itself down my throat. I can barely muster the energy to keep my mouth closed. I'm left with no way to breathe. I can feel darkness slowly enveloping my mind as I drift into unconsciousness. Tears stream down my face as I wonder to myself.

Am I going to die?

My struggle slowly stops as I feel the last of my hope fade away. Suddenly, the sewer cap rumbles again. However, a monster doesn't merge this time. Instead, it's a tall, muscular man with strange blond hair and a heavily shaded face. All Might.

The slime monster has no time to react before All Might dashes forward and wrenches me from my prison. Quickly, he follows up with straight jab from his free hand. It doesn't make contact but the raw force behind it blows the monster apart, splattering him across the floor. The recoil of the punch proves too much for me as I feel my brain shut down and my eyes slowly close.

I feel multiple light impacts on my cheek. I open my eyes to see All Might looming over me, and lightly slapping my face in an attempt to rouse me from my slumber. "Excellent, you're awake," he bellows before laughing. His voice is so booming that just his laughter shakes me. "You were in quite a pickle right there! But, you're safe now so don't worry! The villain has been apprehended," he says, motioning to two full bottles of slime. "If you're alright now, then you'll have to excuse me! Justice awaits!" He turns and begins to walk away. "Um, w-wait," I weakly stammer. This is my chance to find out, once and for all, if my dream really is impossible. I won't let it slip by. All Might begins to crouch, staying still for just a moment. I take the opportunity and grab his leg.

We rocket off the ground with incredible force and are soon soaring through the air. It's at this point that All Might realizes that I'm attached to him. "Are you insane, lad?! Let go!" he yells over the sound of wind. All of my strength is dedicated to holding on for dear life so I don't respond. "Fine, just hold on!" he says as he looks from left t right for a landing spot. He decides on an abandoned building. Despite our intense speed, our landing is relatively gentle. I drop off almost immediately and hit the ground. "Never do anything like that again!" All Might commands before turning away from me. "Wait!" I yell out, "I have a question for you!" He turns back and responds. "What question could possibly be worth almost dying?"

Time seems to stop. I gather all the courage that I have. I plow ahead without hesitating. "I don't have quirk but I want to be a hero more than anything. Everyone has always told me that it's impossible. So I want the answer, straight from the Number One Hero. Is it possible to be a hero, even if I don't have a quirk?"

He pauses for a moment before addressing me sternly. "No."

My brain stumbles a little. His reply is so casual, as if the answer was obvious. A few seconds go by before he continues. "There are some villains that just can't be fought without a quirk. There are some people that can only be helped by someone with a quirk. If you are quirkless than you'll only be able to go so far before you find yourself unable to help someone in a desperate situation." He stops for a moment, as if there's something else that he wants to add. But he doesn't. He simply turns away and leaps into the sky, leaving me alone with a sense of harsh rejection.

There was a commotion on my way home, but I felt way too apathetic to go check it out. What was the point? Whatever I learned from the fight would be useless information. After all, I could never be a hero. All Might said so himself.

I make it back to my apartment. Mom usually would have started cooking dinner by this point, but when I open the door. I don't smell or hear anything. There's a note on the counter.

"Hi Izuku-darling! I hope you had a great day. I was going to make katsudon for you tonight, but it just so happens that we're out of pork. I'll be down at Hanamasa for groceries, so you stay safe. Love You!".

It's unfortunate that she had to make my favorite food on what might be the worst day of my life.

Now, I'm just sitting on the couch doing my hand grip exercises. A part of me thinks how pointless it is to work out now, but feeling the strain on my muscles makes me feel a little better. I absentmindedly surf channels with my other hand.

"Breaking news from the hero agencies!" the T.V. bursts out. I must've gone all the way around to the news channel. The news lady looks concerned so I stop to watch. "Residents in the Tatooine district should be on guard and prepared to evacuate!". I live in that district. I straighten up and start paying more attention. "We have received reports of a massive battle between an unknown villain and the Pro Hero Tremor!".

Tremor is a bit of an up and comer on the scene. His quirk, Earthshaker, causes massive, somewhat uncontrollable, localized earthquakes. It's a dangerous power, especially in such a crowded area. Just as I contemplate this, the ground begins to shake.

"RRAAAUGHHH!"

A massive roar reverberates through the building. I lean out the window to see the origin of the ear splitting noise. It looks like it came from the commercial district. I see what looks like the giant villain from this morning, punching the ground. He must be trying to hit Tremor. "That must be where they're fighting" I whisper aloud to myself. "That really is close. It might even be in the shopping district." A horrible feeling hits me right in the gut. "B-b-but she's fine, right? There's no way that…" Oh god no. The battle seems to be happening right next to a massive pile of rubble.

A pile of rubble that's sitting right where Hanamasa was.

I sprint to the door and wrench it open, barely bothering to close it as I dash through.

"There's no way…" I utter weakly to myself. "I'm sure that she got out". I pound those words into my head, but I keep thinking about how slow she is when it comes to reacting to emergencies. She has a bad habit of freezing up, kinda like me. But what about now? Would she be too startled to react? To save herself?

I push those thoughts away, and keep pounding my feet against the sidewalk, pushing myself faster and faster. I'm already at the shopping district. I see a large crowd formed behind a police tape barricade. "Excuse me, sir!", I yell at one of the officers. "Are there any heroes performing rescue operations on the scene?". "No way, kid!" he replies with vigor. "The fight is way too intense! Plus, all the evacuated civilians are over there". He notions towards a large group of people. My heart soars for a moment before I realize that she's not in the group. I start breathing a little faster. "Have you seen a short lady with green hair?". I force out the words timidly and the officer can see that I'm grasping at straws. "No kid, no one like that". My breathing gets even faster and more shallow. I took the exact route to the district that she always takes, so if I didn't see her… If I didn't see her… and she didn't get evacuated with everyone else… then.

My legs move on their own. I'm over the fence and so far into the ruins of the shopping center that I can barely hear the officer's screams. He doesn't understand. She's in here, and I have to save her. That's what a hero would do.

"You can't become a hero. There's no chance, not without a quirk.".

I trip over my own feet for a moment as All Might's words flash through my mind. I recover quickly, trying desperately to forget his words. What he thinks doesn't matter. My eyes scan over every inch of the ruins, searching through bent steel bars cracked stone walls for any sign of human life. The battle between Tremor and the villain is still going strong, their quirks causing the earth to shake frequently. One of these vibrations causes a lone pillar to crash to the ground.

"AGHHH!"

That was Mom. I rush to where the column fell, hoping that it isn't that bad. But the second I see her, my heart seizes up and my whole body goes rigid. She's trapped, underneath a massive chunk of rubble and rebar. Only her head, upper chest and right arm are free. The rest of her body is pinned under what must be at least three tons of framework. The fallen pillar lies right in front of her, missing her head by only a few feet.

"MOM!" I scream launching myself through the debris. "I-i-izu-ku" she mutters weakly, lifting her hand towards me with a strained look on her face. "Just stay still! I'll save you, j-just hold on!". I try to sound brave, but panic must've leaked out because her face doesn't look relieved at all. "No,no,no honey. Run away, it's too dangerous…" she drags the words out of her mouth. I ignore her, and immediately grab the boulder of construction that's crushing her.

"GRRRRR! GRAHHHH!"

I lift with everything! All of my strength! Everything I can possibly muster! I can almost feel my muscles being torn to shreds. Tears fall down my face, but I grit my teeth and keep lifting,willing with all my heart!

i can't do anything

The goddamn hunk of rock doesn't even inch. I stop trying and turn to my mom. My mom. The woman who has always supported me, and helped me through the roughest times of my life. She looks back into my eyes, and the look she gives me is one of misery.

i can't do anything

"C-come here, Izuku" she motions to me with her free arm. I fall to my knees, letting all my weakness pour out of my eyes. "I'm s-sorry, Izuku. I wish things were better. I wish you could… y-you could…" she can't bring herself to finish. Instead, she wraps her arm around my neck, bring my head right next to hers. I bury my face in her shoulder. She can barely whisper. "I love you Izuku". Her breath gets slower. Even slower. It stops.

i can't do anything.